If there is one camera that is capable of telling stories, it is the Leica M. Due to its small format, low weight and inconspicuous design, it has been used by photojournalists since the early days of 35mm photography.
I’ve been fortunate enough to work with this camera since 2010 and I have taken my M cameras to many assignments, but also on trips and daily walks around the neighborhood. I can honestly say that this camera has been an extension of my eyes for all these years.
In ‘101 x Leica’ I’d like to show you 101 pictures that I made. Some of which you might have seen, some of it yet unseen. There are some images that I love, but also images that I ‘had’ to shoot while on assignment. The book gives a pretty nice insight in my life as a professional photographer.
With the 101 pictures I’ve included 101 short stories about the background of the picture and my thoughts about the (technical) photographical side, plus info about the camera and lens that were used.
This e-book is designed to be viewed and read on a tablet, but it works just as well on any computer.
This picture I took in Antwerp while walking in a small shopping mall. The chihuahua seemed to be the sovereign boss of the shop, and had its own sort of throne. Respect!
I call my Leicas my soulmates and for a reason. They seem to transcend my inner feelings. This shot is a good example. I had to cope with some personal difficulties in 2017. As I was walking through Utrecht I noticed a pitch black bird sitting on top of a post. Silently, staring into the distance just as I was doing. The bird perfectly resembled my mood. I grabbed my Leica M9 paired with the 50 mm Summilux lens and took this shot as the bird took off.
We heard the rumors months ago about this Leica 75/1.25 Noctilux, but now it’s real. I have to be honest: I’m quite excited about this lens. If it’s as good as the 50/0.95, I might be seriously tempted. But before we all get sentimental, let me clarify some things.
I’ve been in the temptation to buy the 75/1.5 Summilux a few times. And when I tested the 80/1.4 Summilux I was tempted again. Why? Well, my wedding work is mostly shot with a 35 and 50mm lens, but my portraits require a slightly longer lens every now and then. The 75/2.5 is good, but has a very short focus throw and it’s too sharp. The 75 Summicron is better, but the throw is again too short. For portraits I prefer a slightly softer rendering lens, with the ability to stop it down for maximum sharpness when needed. The 75/1.25 might tick all these boxes.
Though I haven’t seen nor used the lens yet, I suspect it will be front heavy on the M. Also, it will be hard to focus with just the rangefinder. I think it might work much better on the SL. M10 users will find that using the EVF makes focusing in close up, wide open situations, is much easier.
The Canon 50/0.95 ‘dream lens’ has been on my wish list for quite some time and a few weeks ago my friend Maarten (The Analog Camera Store) asked me if I was interested to test this lens. He just got it back from an extensive CLA and he also had the mount changed to Leica M.
The lens came in pristine condition: not a single mark on the front lens element, virtually no paint loss and also the new mount looked great. Maarten told me that for this lens, the camera repair guy used the mount of the Noctilux. It had the Noctilux 6 bit code engraved and it looked like it was an original Leica lens mount, so I guess that’s the way to do a proper modification.
A big lens, but better balanced on the M than the Noctilux
First impression: it’s big, but in a strange way. It’s shorter than the Noctilux, but also much wider. It’s so wide that you can only dismount the lens from your camera if you use a pen to click the decouple button, because your finger won’t fit between the lens and your camera. If you use it on the SL, which I recommend, it is much easier to dismount the lens.
So let’s get to the review!
First impression: it’s big, but in a strange way…
Build quality and ergonomics
The Canon 50/0.95 feels quite solid, even more so considering it’s not that heavy. The focus ring is smooth (more on that later), although there is a little play. The aperture ring is perfect: nice, firm clicks. Much better than the Noctilux if you ask me. Back to the focus ring: as you know I don’t like lenses with short focus throws, but the throw on this lens is very, very long. If you need to adjust focus from infinity to 1 meter, you have to ‘regrip’ the lens at least once. And that takes time. The throw on the Noctilux maybe a tad short, but it allows for much quicker alterations.
The focus throw on this lens is very, very long…
Smaller than the Noctilux and not the same tank-like build, but still quite solid.
The benefit of a long focus throw is that precise focusing is easier. And with this lens, you’ll need that. More on that below.
Ergnomics wise: on the M it feels better balanced than the Noctilux does…
Ergnomics wise: on the M it feels better balanced than the Noctilux does, because of two things: first, it is not as heavy and, second, it is shorter, so the weight is closer to your camera. Having said that, I recommend to use this lens only on an M camera with live view. Even the smallest miscalibration of you rangefinder or the lens will result in photo’s that are out of focus. And if a picture is out of focus, you’ll notice…
Razor thin depth of field is what you get with this lens.
Sharpness, bokeh and rendering
This is what matter most, right? The only reason to buy this lens is because it is a vintage 50mm lens that opens up to 0.95. I mean, you won’t buy it for shooting portraits at f8 (although you could actually). So, how good is this lens wide open? Well, that depends how you define ‘good’. If you compare it to the Noctilux it is inferior, from a technical point of view. The Canon has a lot of vignetting, spherical aberration and quite a bit of softness. On the other hand, it has a complete different signature. The Noctilux is sharp, contrasty, but maybe a bit too clinical for some. The Canon is anything but clinical. It has swirly bokeh, very rapid transitions from in focus to out of focus areas and it is gloomy, soft, romantic.
The Canon is anything but clinical. It has swirly bokeh, very rapid transitions from in focus to out of focus areas and it is gloomy, soft, romantic…
The slightest error in focusing results in images like these..And here the same shot after re-focus. Still not very sharp, but less horrific than the previous one.
So, like I said, it isn’t very sharp wide open. Not really a big deal for me, though while I’m confident to use the Noctilux wide open for portrait assignments, I wouldn’t do so with the Canon. My clients might ask if there’s something wrong with the photo’s and I can’t bore them with stories about bokeh, character and other nerdy things. The Nocti can be risqué sometimes, the Canon is a no go. But fortunately there are many photographers who shoot for fun (keep doing that by the way, also if you’re a pro) and that’s where the Canon comes in. At least, if it works for you.
Vignetting is not something that I dislike in general, but the Canon has a bit too much of it…
Vignetting is not something that I dislike in general, but the Canon has a bit too much of it. The vignetting is so strong that stopping down from 0.95 to 1.4 makes the image almost brighter.
Bokeh is swirly, very ‘retro’, but also quite romantic. It’s far less predictable than the Noctilux and every time you try something with this lens, you might get surprised. That’s a good thing if you like to be surprised, but in general, I don’t like surprises on paid assignments.
Talking about surprises: shooting the dream lens against the sun isn’t the same as shooting a modern Summicron against the sun. Sometimes it flares a bit, sometimes it flares like hell and sometimes it doesn’t flare at all.
Sometimes it flares a bit, sometimes it flares like hell and sometimes it doesn’t flare at all…
Check out how this lens works with Fowley.
@0.95@1.4. This image looks brighter, because the vignetting disappeared.This is a crop of the 0.95 shot. Sharpness isn’t impressive, but you know what HCB said about sharpness…At 2.8 the image is already sharp enough for most purposes.And the final @5.6
And a crop @5.6
Conclusion
The Canon 50/0.95 is a very special lens. I completely understand why people are willing to pay the money for it. In fact, pure financially, this might be a better investment than the Noctilux. The Canon is no longer made and I seriously doubt that people will ever lose interest for the lens.
In fact, pure financially, this might be a better investment than the Noctilux…
If you want the razor thin depth of field of a 50/0.95 and you don’t want the (clinical) Noctilux 0.95, this lens is actually a good choice. However, the Noctilux f1 is not that much more expensive and offers probably better optical performance, with more ‘character’ than the Nocti 0.95.
I wouldn’t use this lens on the M9, unless you have a perfectly calibrated lens-camera combo. Live view solves most of the issues and makes it possible to use a non-rangefinder couples lens (like the TV version).
Would I buy it? Well, if I didn’t have a 50/0.95 already and I wanted a vintage arty lens, yes, I think I would. If I’d buy it, this specific lens would be the one that I wanted, because it is in perfect condition. Check out The Analog Camera Store to see if it’s still available or if Maarten can find another one for you.
Sometimes this happens when you shoot against the sun…And sometimes you get this…You can make this lens work for you though, if you’re willing to experiment a bit.Very typical for the dream lens: a bit soft and swirly bokehMore swirls here. Focus is on the drooling dog.Nice rendering with a slightly easier background.And another portrait that shows the rendering of the lens.
Daan, one of the readers of this blog, sent me a couple of pictures of his new stabilizer for his Leica M10. He writes:
‘When I need to hold the M for a prolonged period of time, this stabilizer offers a bit more comfort. During this time of the year I like to shoot mushrooms and with this stabilizer I can rest the camera on my knee while shooting. This handy little thing offers some of the benefits of a monopod, while you can still fit it in your Billingham bag.’
You can buy this neat little thing here for a whopping 2,58 dollar.
